The Editor, Sir:

Abortion should be legal, but discouraged as a form of birth control. Women have a right to do whatever they want with their bodies.

It may be argued that the foetus has a right too, but do they have a right to life when it interferes with the woman's right? Whenever pro-life people talk about the horrors of abortion, they focus specifically on late-term ones. Why is this? Because they can use gruesome pictures?

Given the passion that exists on both sides of this issue, I personally think that ending late-term abortions would be a reasonable compromise.

A foetus is not a human being, therefore abortion is not murder. I would qualify that by saying an early abortion is not murder.

Abortion should be legal and accessible. That way both the pro-lifers and the pro-choicers could work together and promote other options such as adoption.

You may want to look into an essay A Defence of Abortion by Judith Thomson, where she compares abortion with being forced to give blood to a famous violinist. Just because your body can be used to give another body life does not mean you should be obligated to use it that way.

Unwanted, abandoned, ill-cared kids are a burden to society. Better to get rid of a 'small' problem than have a 'mountain' of a problem. Concepts of 'morality' are often central to arguments about abortion.

Legalied abortion doesn't mean you have to get one. Your not wanting one should not mean that nobody else should have access. Besides, abortion is not a decision one makes lightly.

The women who undergo abortions have put a lot of thought into their decision. It's like saying guys should not be able to masturbate because that's potential life too.

Abortions are still taking place even though it isn't legal. Legalised abortions just allow the women to be safer when it happens. I think that we can all agree that the woman has the right to have proper health care.

I am, etc.,

SASHAKAY FAIRCLOUGH

gucci_hottie@hotmail.com

United Kingdom

Via Go-Jamaica